What you should know before buying a pet iguana

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Posted by Jake-Yaniv Boshernitzan on September 21, 2000 at 16:36:48:

Are You Thinking About Getting a Green Iguana ?

"What you need to know before purchasing an iguana"

The green iguana is without question one of the most popular reptile pets. I often baffle myself wondering why. Are they easy to care for ? Can they fetch your newspaper in the morning? Hmmm....
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Usually when a child asks his or her parents for a dog they are made aware that these pets require many responsibilities. Daily feeding, occasional baths, veterinary care, and socializing are all part of the necessary regiment. Caring for a dog or cat truly demands effort and commitment. Somehow, the necessities of dog care are usually met.
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Now, I would like you to try imagining a scenario that may be paralleled in a way we may not perceive. Imagine dogs being kept exclusively as puppies. 90% of the pet trade sold them as nice furry cute things around two months of age. Also, it was common practice to keep these canine puppies only while they were at the puppy stage. When they got older they weren't as "cute." They wouldn't lay in our lap while we watched television. What would we need adult canines for? Just give them to the animal shelter to take care of. The animal shelter would look for people to adopt these adult canines. Finding an owner would be difficult considering that adults aren't as cute and fluffy as puppies. Obviously, the zoos don't need them. People can see dogs without visiting zoos. Adult dogs simply aren't pets
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The preceding scenario sounds pretty awful. Right? We all know that we would never do this to our dogs or any other pet for that matter. It is cruel, selfish, and inhumane. Need I explain why? Probably not but I'll do so anyway. The dog as a species goes through several growth stages as it reaches adulthood. The adult dog has fulfilled it's fundamental evolutionary task to become reproductively viable. It has lived to be a dog. It has done as nature intended. Having the freedom to grow past youth is certainly part of any species' completeness and identity. Removing this freedom would bebrutal. This would be called furthering the existence of dogs, not caring for them.
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Back to iguanas. They certainly are great animals. No doubting that. Just feed them romaine lettuce with the occasional cricket. A hot rock, lettuce, a 10 gallon tank and your set. None of that complicated stuff involved with dog care. No wonder parents don't pose the same questions when their kids ask for an iguana as a pet instead of a dog. They are much cheaper too.
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If you honestly believe what I have just told you to be correct, you are WRONG! Green iguanas are much more demanding pets than dogs are. Nutritionally complete dog food can be purchased many pounds at a time at an affordable price. The few companies that provide green iguana pellets aren't nearly as inexpensive by volume. All Iguanas require a fresh variety of nutritious greens. Iceberg, romaine, watermelon, and green peppers are all NOT NUTRITIOUS foods. Feeding such staples would essentially be a gradual starvation process. There is very little nutritive material to absorb in these foods. Tossed salad veggies are not iguana food nor is any meat product. Green iguanas require fresh unfiltered sunlight or expensive fixtures that simulate natural light. Without them, iguanas eventually become dull and lethargic. They also lack the ability to synthesize certain essential vitamins.
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If you are thinking about getting an iguana because they are cool neat little pets that eat easily accessible vegetables than you don't know what harm you will do for your pet. Green iguanas will reach lengths of 5 to 6 feet. This isn't some abstract number of no importance. The green iguana species as adults are not small. They are too often kept as "disposable little lizards". These little lizards are only babies of a large lizard species. All to often they are so poorly cared for that they don't even have a chance to reach adulthood. Keeping anything as a pet implies that you commit yourself to the animal both as a juvenile, and as an adult. The animal relies on you for sustenance. Don't get yourself into a trap. IGUANAS ARE NOT EASY TO PROPERLY CARE FOR.
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Am I scaring you? Good! Caring for iguanas properly involves large amounts of experience and acquired knowledge. They are complicated creatures that are not distantly related to our familiar mammalian relatives. Don't take upon yourself the responsibility of owning one lightly.
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Yaniv's Herpetological handbook

Follow Ups:

Hey, his heart is in the right place, educate, the uneducated. Cathy 09/21/00 (1)
- So true... Dishy 09/21/00 (0)
All posts that merely say "Look at my website" will be removed. 09/21/00 (7)
- Re: HUH???? please forgive this person/troll Yaniv! BabyHerp 09/21/00 (3)
  - Double huh??? AIML? Jamie/JBug 09/21/00 (2)
    - Re: just bein a troll ......Yeeaaahhh babeee!! Whining...B*****g....Moaner 09/22/00 (0)
    - Oops............go down 3 posts.....for response. n/m DH 09/22/00 (0)
- Re: All posts that merely say "Look at my website" Yaniv Boshernitzan 09/21/00 (2)
  - I have to admit....(more) LilMe 09/21/00 (1)
    - can YOU say MK vs Henry???!! BINGO !!!!!!!!! n/m DH 09/22/00 (0)
read the forum before you lecture us as a group! *geesh* ....nm iZ's mom 09/21/00 (2)
- Re: Ohhh I get it duh........ BabyHerp 09/21/00 (1)
  - I agree! There are still new people that check out this site. nm JNelson 09/21/00 (0)

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: : Are You Thinking About Getting a Green Iguana ? : : "What you need to know before purchasing an iguana" : The green iguana is without question one of the most popular reptile pets. I often baffle myself wondering why. Are they easy to care for ? Can they fetch your newspaper in the morning? Hmmm.... : ------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Usually when a child asks his or her parents for a dog they are made aware that these pets require many responsibilities. Daily feeding, occasional baths, veterinary care, and socializing are all part of the necessary regiment. Caring for a dog or cat truly demands effort and commitment. Somehow, the necessities of dog care are usually met. : ------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Now, I would like you to try imagining a scenario that may be paralleled in a way we may not perceive. Imagine dogs being kept exclusively as puppies. 90% of the pet trade sold them as nice furry cute things around two months of age. Also, it was common practice to keep these canine puppies only while they were at the puppy stage. When they got older they weren't as "cute." They wouldn't lay in our lap while we watched television. What would we need adult canines for? Just give them to the animal shelter to take care of. The animal shelter would look for people to adopt these adult canines. Finding an owner would be difficult considering that adults aren't as cute and fluffy as puppies. Obviously, the zoos don't need them. People can see dogs without visiting zoos. Adult dogs simply aren't pets : ------------------------------------------------------------------------ : The preceding scenario sounds pretty awful. Right? We all know that we would never do this to our dogs or any other pet for that matter. It is cruel, selfish, and inhumane. Need I explain why? Probably not but I'll do so anyway. The dog as a species goes through several growth stages as it reaches adulthood. The adult dog has fulfilled it's fundamental evolutionary task to become reproductively viable. It has lived to be a dog. It has done as nature intended. Having the freedom to grow past youth is certainly part of any species' completeness and identity. Removing this freedom would bebrutal. This would be called furthering the existence of dogs, not caring for them. : ------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Back to iguanas. They certainly are great animals. No doubting that. Just feed them romaine lettuce with the occasional cricket. A hot rock, lettuce, a 10 gallon tank and your set. None of that complicated stuff involved with dog care. No wonder parents don't pose the same questions when their kids ask for an iguana as a pet instead of a dog. They are much cheaper too. : ------------------------------------------------------------------------ : If you honestly believe what I have just told you to be correct, you are WRONG! Green iguanas are much more demanding pets than dogs are. Nutritionally complete dog food can be purchased many pounds at a time at an affordable price. The few companies that provide green iguana pellets aren't nearly as inexpensive by volume. All Iguanas require a fresh variety of nutritious greens. Iceberg, romaine, watermelon, and green peppers are all NOT NUTRITIOUS foods. Feeding such staples would essentially be a gradual starvation process. There is very little nutritive material to absorb in these foods. Tossed salad veggies are not iguana food nor is any meat product. Green iguanas require fresh unfiltered sunlight or expensive fixtures that simulate natural light. Without them, iguanas eventually become dull and lethargic. They also lack the ability to synthesize certain essential vitamins. : ------------------------------------------------------------------------ : If you are thinking about getting an iguana because they are cool neat little pets that eat easily accessible vegetables than you don't know what harm you will do for your pet. Green iguanas will reach lengths of 5 to 6 feet. This isn't some abstract number of no importance. The green iguana species as adults are not small. They are too often kept as "disposable little lizards". These little lizards are only babies of a large lizard species. All to often they are so poorly cared for that they don't even have a chance to reach adulthood. Keeping anything as a pet implies that you commit yourself to the animal both as a juvenile, and as an adult. The animal relies on you for sustenance. Don't get yourself into a trap. IGUANAS ARE NOT EASY TO PROPERLY CARE FOR. : ------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Am I scaring you? Good! Caring for iguanas properly involves large amounts of experience and acquired knowledge. They are complicated creatures that are not distantly related to our familiar mammalian relatives. Don't take upon yourself the responsibility of owning one lightly. : ------------------------------------------------------------------------ :

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